A Thousand Years
by JennyTylerSmith
Summary: Alone temporarily, on New Year's Eve the Doctor stumbles upon someone familiar and temptation effects him. Can the Doctor resist himself or will be mess up the timelines. DoctorxRose, Tumblr Secret Santa Fic for 'Wintermoth'.


This is a Tumblr Secret Santa fic for Wintermoth.

Set in a Universe were in 'Stolen Earth' Rose never appeared. So the Doctor here hasn't seen Rose for over a thousand years/ever since Doomsday.

Pairing: ElevenxRose.

This is unbeta-d so all mistakes are mine.

* * *

**_"I have died everyday waiting for you_**

**_Darling don't be afraid I have loved you_**

**_For a thousand years_**

**_I'll love you for a thousand more._**

**_And all along I believed I would find you_**

**_Time has brought your heart to me_**

**_I have loved you for a thousand years_**

**_I'll love you for a thousand more."_**

* * *

The TARDIS felt incredibly small now. The only noise inside it were the TARDIS's eternal song and his own breathing. The loneliness, that he always tried to avoid by inviting companions aboard and by taking each adventure by storm, had now caught up with him.

It was a Wednesday so Clara had asked to be dropped off at home. She still wasn't what he would call a full time companion. Few days she would hang out with him and some days she would stay home. He still often wondered about the mystery which surrounded her. Clara had died twice yet here she was, completely unaware of her other two incarnations. All the tests he conducted concluded she was completely human.

The TARDIS hummed indignantly suddenly, bringing him out of his trance.

"What's up with you, why do you dislike her so much?" he asked his sentient ship in confusion. Usually the TARDIS never showed any disapproval of any of his friends. Usually she kept neutral and did not show any approval or disapproval.

_'Well…most times'_

The only other time she had ever shown any sign of affection or complete approval was with Rose. Thinking about her struck him with pain, like a knife cutting through his heart. Even though he hadn't laid his eyes on her for over a thousand year, the hole she left in his heart was still there. She had filled up the emptiness left by the loss of his people. The TARDIS had also seemed to approve of Rose. It was she who brought him back to Rose for the second time. When she rejected his offer the first time, he had sullenly walked back and set a different destination, but the TARDIS hadn't gone where he has set her to go. In fact, the TARDIS de materialized right in the alley he had left Rose and Mickey. It had surprised him that she brought him back but none the less he asked Rose again. If his stubborn ship hadn't gone back then he wouldn't have had Rose at all.

At his thought process, the TARDIS chimed nostalgically.

"You miss her don't you?"

The TARDIS's lights flickered half-heartedly.

"And now we are both down…" he trailed.

Suddenly he stood up, with a manic smile on his face.

"We can't have that! The universe is filled adventure and fun, we just have to find somewhere. Take us somewhere fun old girl!" he said it as he set the destination in random mode, letting the TARDIS choose.

She seemed to chime happily and he felt the de materialization sequence begin. When it finally stopped, he flung open the door and stepped out. As soon as he was out though the smile disappeared and a frown took its place. By the looks of things, he appeared to me in London, sometime in present time.

Disappointed, he turned around and tried to get inside the TARDIS but to his surprise, but he tried to get it he found that the door was locked. She had locked him out.

"Oh come on, there is nothing here," he pleaded but he could sense how stubborn she was. For some reason she wouldn't let him in.

Scowling at her one last time, he turned around and started walking. The TARDIS never took him anywhere he wanted but she took him where he was needed. This meant that something could go wrong in here. So eagerly, he looked around for any sign of trouble. London usually seemed to be a magnet for it. The sky was pitch black and when he saw a newspaper lying on the ground; he leaned over to check the date. He still wasn't sure whether he was in present time or past.

His eyes widened when he saw that it was 31st of December 2003, the New Years Eve. Curious even more now, he looked around. Suddenly he froze up when his eyes spotted a blonde hair. Not just any blonde hair but **the **blonde hair. He could recognize that silhouette anywhere. She walked inside a club and blindly he followed her.

He ignored the voice in his head that screamed that he shouldn't play with timelines but he ached to see her one last time. If he could have only one more moment with her, just few minutes at the least he would be happy with that.

As soon as he walked in, he was swallowed up in the crowd. He tried to look around to try and spot her but he couldn't.

Frustration hit him hard. He knew he had seen her back but where was she now? Had he imagined her? Doubt as well as irritation hit him. Just as he was going to tear his hair off he spotted the blonde figure sitting at the bar in the far end. He let go of his hair and walked towards her. The closer he got towards her, the more relaxed and anxious he felt. She looked young, so young. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she had a fringe. She was wearing a red blouse and black jeans. Her hands were folded and she seemed to be staring at the drink in front of her intently. Just as he was close enough, he saw Rose sigh and then get off the chair.

He picked up his pace to try and catch up with her. Accidentally he bumped into her and she tripped. He cursed and gave out his hand to help her. But she stood up without his help and looked at him. His breath caught when he saw her face to face.

Rose looked up at him with a smile. Her eyes held a mixture of amusement as well as a shadow in it.

"Oh…eh I am sorry?" he apologized but it sounded more like a question rather than a statement.

She must have found him amusing because she giggled. He smiled at her in response immediately, feeling like a teenager rather than an over a thousand year old Time Lord. She always seemed to have that effect on him, even now.

He observed her again. She looked different, not like she did when he had meet her but more different. At this he then inwardly smacked himself. Of course she would look different; she was a year younger than she had been when he met her in 2005. She had to look different.

"Its okay, its fine I am sure you did not mean to smack into me," she said it with her radiant smile.

"Oh no, no definitely no, I did not deliberately do that. No, no, not at all that would make me sound creepy and I'm no creep, trust me," he floundered.

Her smile suddenly lessened after that, he inwardly cursed. Why did his gob always run like that?

"Do I know you?" Rose asked tentatively as she observed him with critical eye. At this his smile dimmed before he spoke those ironic words.

"Me? Oh no, definitely no. You don't know me at all."

Rose squinted her eyes towards him but after a while she gave up and smiled.

"Were you leaving?" he wondered out-loud as he stuffed his hands inside his tweed jacket.

"Yeah…I-I didn't find what I was looking for…" she said it smiling sadly. She looked towards the exit once more. He could see her thought process and spoke up before she decides to leave. He had promised himself he would only spend few minutes with her, to make sure he doesn't change the timeline but after speaking with her once, he wanted more time with her.

Before she could retreat he spoke up.

"Do you want to dance?"

His question seemed to surprise her because she blinked in confusion and stare at him.

"I mean, it is twenty minutes to midnight, New Year's Eve no one should be well alone really."

"So…I should be spending it with a stranger instead?" she said it in a serious tone while looking at him.

Speechless he looked at her helplessly, not sure how to react.

After a while Rose couldn't hold her serious anymore and giggled. The Doctor let out his breath; he hadn't even realised that he was holding it in the first place. After Rose composed herself, she looked at the Doctor intently. She let out her hand and the Doctor took it. He led them to the middle of the dance floor and started to swing to the slow music which the DJ started playing.

"And you are?"

"Doctor….Matthew Jones," he covered himself up by inventing the name. He didn't want to call himself the Doctor, because then when Rose meets his Ninth Incarnation, she might put the two together or be confused. He couldn't afford to change the timelines too much. He was taking a big risk as it is.

Rose's eyes had widened for a second because she calmed down. She looked at him with more interest now. Her hazel eyes bore into his green eyes, as if she could see into his soul, and smiling she asked.

"Like…a doctor, doctor or PhD Doctor?"

"PhD but I know enough to be a doctor, doctor too," he said it, in a jovial tone.

Rose raised her eyebrows at that.

"Well someone is a little cocky," she said it giving her tongue-in-teeth smile. Seeing the familiar gesture made him smile even more.

As much as it would hurt leaving her now after this, at least he had this memory to keep him going.

"I wouldn't call it cockiness if it's the truth," he wagged his eyebrows at that, "So…why are you here? Waiting for someone?" he asked genuinely curious.

Rose had never talked about her teenage years or her childhood. Oh she had shared stories of Mickey and what Jackie did but she never talked to him about anyone else aside from Mickey or someone named Shareen.

"I was…looking for someone I guess, he. Well I thought he would be here, somewhere but he's not," her eyes were downcast.

"Someone special?" he asked, fishing for information. He tried to remember just when Rose had started dating Mickey. Maybe she was talking about Mickey or even the mysterious Jimmy Stone, who Jackie hated. Either way, one of them stood Rose up and he could not wrap his head around that concept. Why would anyone not want to be in her company? She had this innate ability to make anyone feel better. Its why he had asked her to travel with him in the first place.

"Definitely," she said it with passion behind her words. Her eyes sparkled at that.

He tried to squash his jealousy. That's how she used to look at him, but then he realised that this Rose wasn't his yet so he had no right to feel jealousy.

Rose then stopped smiling and leaned closer while staring at him. She seemed to be looking for something. Suddenly observing him like a hawk. What she was looking for, he had no idea.

"Uh Rose what's wrong?"

"I never told you my name," she uttered looking at him attentively.

At this his throat went dry immediately. It was true; she never told him her name. How could he explain this?

"Well you look like a Rose, not exactly the flower but like someone who will be called Rose. And, that doesn't mean I am calling you demure because Rose can be associated with that, but if you are then I am not judging you-" he back peddled trying make some sense but Rose suddenly had a smile on her face. For some reason she looked like the cat that got the cream.

Before he could question anymore, Rose caught the lapels of his tweed jacket, pulled him down and immediately kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively, caught her head and pulled her closer. When she tried to pull away, he reluctantly let her.

After she pulled away she stared at him, with the biggest grin he had ever seen on her.

"Doctor it is you!" she said wrapping her arms around his neck. At this he blinked and replayed her words to check whether he heard right.

"Wait, what?"

"You have changed your face but it is you. I wasn't sure but only you can babble so much and have those eyes," she said caressing his hair, "I found you!"

He picked up his jaw and looked at her intently.

"How can you know me, you! You are not the Rose of this time are you?" the realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. He was not crossing timelines at all. This was present Rose. But if this was a present Rose that meant that this was the Rose who got separated from him. Wide eyed, he looked at Rose; finally realising she had done the impossible.

"But how? I, I tried everything, I looked everywhere to try and cross the dimensions but I couldn't. How did you do it? If I knew there was a way I would have done it years ago, I-"

Rose interrupted him mid-rant by pulling him down again.

"Can we talk about technicalities later and just enjoy for now?" she pleaded looking at him.

He shut his mouth and smiled. He would ask questions later and sort things out. For now he would just bask in the miracle that the Universe gave him.


End file.
